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I’m asking this question for a friend. She adopted a

I’m asking this question...

I’m asking this question for a friend. She adopted a wonderful pit mix named Maggie when the dog was a year and a half old. My friend also fosters for a pitbull organization and has foster dogs joining her family periodically for a time while they are waiting to be adopted. Maggie has attacked other pets in the household a few times. She is showing possessive tendencies toward my friend, her owner. Sometimes these aggressive attacks can be triggered over a toy. These episodes come with very little warning, seemingly out of the blue. The vast majority of the time Maggie is a very affectionate and loving good tempered dog. She is facing the possibility of needing to be rehomed because of this. I’m hoping for some advice that might keep Maggie with the family who loves her so much!

Veterinarian's Assistant: I'll do all I can to help. What seems to be the problem with the dog?

She has random attacks of aggression toward another dog in the household. Most of the time she’s very loving and gets along with the other dog very well. Seems to be a trust issue, possessiveness, or sometimes over a toy. When she attacks she bites the other dog and won’t let go until she is separated from the dog physically by the owners family. These attacks are very infrequent but hard to predict.

Veterinarian's Assistant: Strange behavior is often perplexing. I'm sure the Dog Trainer can help you.

Shall I stay here in this page and wait for a response or check back at a later time?

Veterinarian's Assistant: What is the dog's name and age?

Maggie is 3 or 4 years old.

Veterinarian's Assistant: Is there anything else the Dog Trainer should be aware of about Maggie?

I work in the veterinary center where Maggie has boarded for short periods of time which is how I got to know her. She bonded very quickly with me, that can be rather slow to warm up to others. She has never shown any signs of aggression at our clinic, but has not been given access to the other dogs.

Hello and welcome. My name is ***** ***** I have been in the dog field for 25 years. I am a Therapy Dog & AKC Evaluator/trainer/ as well as an assistance/service dog trainer, specializing in behavior. It will be my pleasure to help you today. I am working on your question now. It may take a few minutes for me to type a personal response or type questions regarding your situation. Your patience is very much appreciated.

If she has possession aggression and you cannot tell what item is valuable enough for her to become possessive over then it is not advisable she live with other animals or even children.

Possession aggression requires the owner to put all items away that the dog feels this way over. Unfortunately if the dog feels this way about the owner, there is always going to be a problem.

This takes months and then years of continuous training over items , which can be easily put away, not so for a human. The problem is going to arise when the foster dog begins to take interest in anything this dog values.

I think that if they love this dog , they will not bring in other animals, and they will keep this dog from other animals on the outside.

Possession aggression is a tricky thing to work with, again as you said , the dog does this out of no where which tells me that the owner is not noticing something of value to the dog.

Are there any techniques that could be tried with Maggie in this case? is it just a case were some dogs have this personality trait and cannot be taught two exist peacefully with other pets? If so, would she do better in a household where she was the only pet?Her owner said that there are times where she will show kind of a fixated stare prior to and attack. Over the past couple years there have only been three incidents that I know of. Is there a way to defuse that state of mind before it takes action? Are there any medications that could help this behavior?

it is that fixated stare that is a clue to an attack. Sometimes it can be changed with a leave it, and other times any interference can make a dog attack sooner.

Dogs are usually born with personalities, as humans are, that develop over time.

If she has attacked 3 times already, you are talking about intense training and long term training. It sounds like this other foster is coming in soon, that is not enough time.

You should seek out a trainer that can observe the dog adn give it a temperament test to see what type of aggression and how many ,you are dealing with. If you are dealing with alpha, or possession or both.

Again this is not a dog I would put in a home with other dogs or kids.

As far as medications, it is not likely to work for aggression like this, Generally this is used for anxieties.

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Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.